Pages

Monday, May 21, 2018

Welcome to knight boot camp! Check out PERILS OF WRATH, a medieval
action-romance. Available May 22, 2018 where books
and ebooks are sold.

TO SHAPE THEIR DESTINY, THEY MUST GIVE UP CONTROL
Sir Roland Beaumont's investigation into his birth parents’ deaths leads him to Guildon Castle, domain of Lord Craven. Roland’s plans are complicated when the earl enlists him to tame his stepdaughter, Audrina Gibbons, by training her as a squire. Roland soon finds that Audrina—Audri—is much more than he imagined.
Unable to save her mother from Craven's physical abuse, Audri’s open hostility for her stepfather and his scheme pits her against her would-be trainer. Audri's provocation strains Roland’s composure, much as his merciless training regime tests her willpower.
Sir Roland’s quest for truth soon tests the resolve of both knight and squire as the dark secrets of Guildon Castle are unearthed—secrets never meant to be revealed . . . secrets that some would kill to keep.

I grew up in a small town outside Yosemite National Park,
California, U.S.A. I enjoy soccer, piano, reading, writing, art and my family.
Years ago I spent 18 months in Italy teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Seeing the castles and old Roman cities enhanced my fascination for ancient and
medieval culture. In college I studied zoology, botany and criminal justice.
I've worked as a wildland firefighter and a police officer, but I am currently
a stay-at-home mom, spending time with my children and husband. I was diagnosed
with multiple sclerosis in 2017 and changed my diet and lifestyle to that of
super healthy eating of fruits, veggies, grains, fish, Vitamin D, flax seed oil
and exercise, and it seems to be keeping the disease at bay for the time being.
I love thinking up new ideas for interesting stories and musical compositions
to go with them.

Thursday, May 17, 2018

So my cute 9-year-old daughter loves to bake, and she likes to use multi-purpose baking mix as a base for some of her creations. JIFFY and BISQUICK have a good base with BISQUICK having a "heart smart" version that has no saturated fat. My daughter made banana nut bread from the back of the JIFFY box, substituting apple sauce for the shortening and 4 egg whites for the two whole eggs. The bread turned out SO GOOD! She now gets requests from family members to make it again and again. Here's the recipe as she makes it:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream sugar and apple sauce together. Add baking mix, eggs, banana and nuts. Mix until blended. Pour into prepared pan * , ** , ***. After baking and removing from pan, cool on wire rack before storing in plastic bag or other container for a few days . . . or freeze for later.

*For loaf: Lightly oil a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Pour all batter into pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool at least a half hour in pan before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
**For regular-sized muffins: Lightly oil muffin pan. Fill no more than ¾-full with batter. Bake for about 15-18 minutes.
*** For mini-muffins: Lightly oil mini-muffin pan. Fill no more than ¾-full with batter. Bake for about 12 minutes.

Thursday, May 10, 2018

The long-awaited release of my second book, PERILS OF WRATH, sequel to SHADOWS OF VALOR is fast approaching: MAY 22, 2018!!! It will be available in paperback and ebook formats everywhere online and in select stores.

Tag lines:

"To shape their destiny, they must give up control!"

"Nothing frustrates a knight more than being shackled to an unruly squire with guarded secrets and a persistent sweet tooth."

Blurb:

Sir Roland Beaumont's investigation into his birth parents' deaths leads him to Guildon Castle, domain of Lord Craven. Roland's plans are complicated when the earl enlists him to tame his stepdaughter, Audrina Gibbons, by training her as a squire. Roland soon finds that Audrina (Audri) is much more than he imagined.

Unable to save her mother from Craven's physical abuse, Audri's open hostility for her stepfather and his scheme pits her against her would-be trainer. Audri's provocation strains Roland's composure, much as his merciless training regime tests her willpower.

Sir Roland's quest for truth soon tests the resolve of both knight and squire as the dark secrets of Guildon Castle are unearthed, secrets never meant to be revealed . . . secrets that some would kill to keep.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

PERILS OF WRATH, my second PG-rated medieval action-romance, is available for pre-order from Amazon and Barnes & Noble before its May 22, 2018 release. I'm so excited to see it on those sites already! May can't come soon enough. Perils of Wrath is a sequel to Shadows of Valor, but the stories are standalones and may be read apart from each other. However, Perils of Wrath will be more meaningful if one reads Shadows of Valor first.

Perils of Wrath blurb (from the back of the book):
Sir Roland Beaumont's investigation into his birth parents’ deaths leads him to Guildon Castle, domain of Lord Craven. Roland’s plans are complicated when the earl enlists him to tame his stepdaughter, Audrina Gibbons, by training her as a squire. Roland soon finds that Audrina―Audri―is much more than he imagined.

Unable to save her mother from Craven's physical abuse, Audri’s open hostility for her stepfather and his scheme pits her against her would-be trainer. Audri's provocation strains Roland’s composure, much as his merciless training regime tests her willpower.

Sir Roland’s quest for truth soon tests the resolve of both knight and squire as the dark secrets of Guildon Castle are unearthed―secrets never meant to be revealed . . . secrets that some would kill to keep.Pre-Order Perils of Wrath here:Amazon - paperbackBarnes and Noble - paperback
Everywhere online where books and ebooks are sold

Shadows of Valor blurb (from the back of the book):
Something dark stirs within the peaceful walls of the prosperous town of Graywall, something only the mysterious vigilante known as The Shadow can overcome. Torn between a sense of justice and a desire for revenge, The Shadow is the nobleman Sir Calan, who must use his skills to assist the Lord of Graywall.

When Sir Calan is sent to hunt down smugglers who have run rampant after the levying of a harsh tax by King Edward, he learns of a plot against the just ruler of the town, Lord Shaufton. To thwart this plot, Calan enters a pseudo courtship with Shaufton's daughter under the guise of Sir Calan, even as he wrestles with emotions stirred by the lovely Elsbeth, Lord Shaufton's niece. Elsbeth may be the only person who can heal Calan's troubled soul, but she has secrets of her own.

Rife with deceit, greed, and betrayal, Shadow of Valor is a timeless tale of honor, love, and redemption.

Heat oven to 425°F. Brush large cookie sheet with 1/2 tablespoon of the oil. Sprinkle cookie sheet with cornmeal. Sprinkle flour over work surface. On floured surface, unroll pizza crust dough; starting at center, press dough into 16x10-inch rectangle. With pizza cutter or knife, cut dough lengthwise into 4 (2 1/2-inch-wide) strips. Evenly place 7 pepperoni slices on each dough strip, leaving 1/2 inch on each end uncovered. Cut each string cheese in half lengthwise. Place 4 cheese halves on pepperoni on each dough strip, overlapping ends to fit. Bring up sides of each dough strip over pepperoni and cheese, and tightly pinch together, stretching dough as necessary to fully enclose cheese and pepperoni; pinch ends to seal. Lightly roll and shape into 16-inch logs. To make pretzel shape, form each log into U-shape, then cross the ends and fold dough over so ends rest on bottom of U-shape. Place pretzels on cookie sheet. Brush pretzels with remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until pretzels are golden brown. Serve warm with pasta sauce for dipping.

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

It's been quite a journey for mother/daughter author team Amie and Bethanie Borst as they've worked endlessly to breathe new life into Cinderskella's new cover (and what an awesome cover it is), illustrations (I've been told they're amazing), and even the story itself after leaving Jolly Fish Press in 2016. And the dynamic duo is super stoked with the changes! Can't wait to see what they do with the other books in their series.

Cinderskella is due to re-release in February 2018, so mark your calendars!

Blurb:
It’s not just monsters that go bump in the night. Sometimes it’s skeleton-girls, too. Cindy might appear to be your average twelve year old, but since her mother’s death she has a secret. Every night she faces a horrible, terrible curse; one that turns her into a skeleton. Yup, a boney, white skeleton. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Cindy’s own father is scared of her. Plus she has an evil stepmother who makes her do crazy chores, some of them with a toothbrush. And then there’s the wild dog with intentions of making Cindy into his midnight snack. As if all that wasn’t bad enough, the Spring Fling dance is fast approaching and Ethan, the cutest boy in sixth grade, doesn’t seem to know she exists. Cindy doesn’t think letting Ethan know she’s a cursed skeleton-girl is the best way to introduce herself. Determined to break the curse, Cindy travels to the Underworld where things aren’t quite what they seem, including Mr. Death, the strange and creepy Undertaker. With a jar of pickled pig’s feet, a wacky fortuneteller, and an cranky skeleton mouse, Cindy is afraid this curse has really gotten under her skin.

Amie and Bethanie Bio’s:
Amie Borst loves glitter, unicorns, and chocolate. But not at the same time. That would be weird. She’s a PAL member of the SCBWI as well as a founding and contributing member of The Mixed-Up Files…of Middle-Grade Authors, a group blog dedicated to middle-grade books. Amie lives in Virginia with her three beautiful daughters, her handsome husband, and two cute dogs named Lily and Maggie. She wishes she could travel the world in a hot pink elevator but for now, her minivan will have to do.

Bethanie Borst is 17 and the author of three books. When she was only 10 years old, she wrote her first book, Cinderskella. She enjoys reading, writing, and STEM. Bethanie is fluent in both sarcasm and humor and is prepared for the zombie apocalypse and/or spontaneous combustion of the world. Because, let’s face it, both of those things are totally realistic.

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Cover design by Dane Low of Ebook Launch in conjunction with Amberjack Publishing.

Perils of Wrath finally has a cover, and I LOVE it!

Perils of Wrath, a proper medieval action-romance and sequel to Shadows of Valor, follows
the story of the orphan boy, Roland, who is now a gallant knight and pursuing his own quest.

"To shape their destiny, they must give up control."

“Nothing
frustrates a knight more than being shackled to an unruly female squire with
guarded secrets and a persistent sweet tooth.”

Sir Roland Beaumont's investigation into his birth parents’ deaths leads him to Guildon Castle, domain of Lord Craven. Roland’s plans are complicated when the earl enlists him to tame his stepdaughter, Audrina Gibbons, by training her as a squire. Roland soon finds that Audrina―Audri―is much more than he imagined.

Unable to save her mother from Craven's physical abuse, Audri’s open hostility for her stepfather and his scheme pits her against her would-be trainer. Audri's provocation strains Roland’s composure, much as his merciless training regime tests her willpower.

Sir Roland’s quest for truth soon tests the resolve of both knight and squire as the dark secrets of Guildon Castle are unearthed―secrets never meant to be revealed . . . secrets that some would kill to keep.

Sunday, September 3, 2017

My oldest daughter is turning 12 and when I asked her what she wanted for her birthday dinner and dessert she said, "CHICKEN PILLOWS and RED VELVET BROWNIES." Okay, the chicken pillows I could do, no problem, but red velvet brownies? Did such a thing exist? Turned out they do, but I needed a simple version. I had a box of red velvet cake mix in the pantry. Could I do something with that? Turned out I could. Online I found several sites telling me how to make cake mix into brownies. NICE! Here are the recipes for chicken pillows and cake mix brownies. Buon appetito amici!

Cake Mix Brownies1 (15-18 oz) box chocolate cake mix (or other flavor if desired)1 egg1/3 cup water (or milk)1/4 cup cooking oil (or softened, not melted, butter)Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease, or spray with cooking spray, a 9x13-inch pan. Mix dry cake mix, egg, water, and oil until completely combined. The batter will be very thick and very sticky. Spread batter into prepared pan (the thickness of the batter makes spreading in the pan more time consuming than with normal brownie mix). Batter will be spread very thin in the 9x13 pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Did
you know that July is Adrienne Monson’s birthday month? And she’s celebrating
by putting her vampire trilogy on sale on Amazon! DISSENSION is FREE to
download now until July 22! DEFIANCE is ON SALE for only .99 from now until
July 25th. And DELIVERANCE is ALSO ON SALE for only 1.99 now until the 25th.
Happy birthday to Adrienne! :D

Read
the blurbs below and take advantage of this celebratory sale!

DISSENSION
~ Reluctant vampire Leisha is caught in the middle of an ongoing bloody war
between her people and immortals, an undying race sworn to destroy all
vampires. It's a different life from the one she had 2,000 years ago when she
led a quiet life as a devoted mother. Leisha soon finds herself captured by the
government, only to be saved by a mysterious human girl. Leisha and her
newfound friend run for their lives while searching for the one thing that can
bring an end to this escalating conflict -- the prophecy child.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MRZQF9E/ref=series_rw_dp_sw

DEFIANCE
~ Leisha and Samantha barely survived the vampires and immortals six months
ago. Now, an explosive battle seems imminent. It's more important than ever
that the prophecy child is found, but there's a problem—Leisha has lost her
powers. She seems like nothing more than a human. Her newfound humanity is
further complicated when Tafari, her old lover, appears with a desire for
reconciliation. Can Leisha lock up the past to save those she loves? Or will
fate tear everything from her once again?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MUYH6V9/ref=series_rw_dp_sw

DELIVERANCE
~ For three years Leisha has kept Liam, the prophecy child, safe from the
Immortals. But when Leisha is taken, twenty-year-old Samantha can't keep Liam
safe on her own. On the cusp of the ultimate battle between vampires and
Immortals, Samantha turns to her ex-boyfriend Nik for help, determined to keep
her heart closed this time. Desolation looms as Liam seeks to fulfill his
unknown destiny. Will he bring vampires and Immortals together or is there a
much darker prophecy at work? Deliverance is the epic conclusion to the Blood
Inheritance Trilogy.

About Me

I grew up in a small town outside Yosemite National Park, California, U.S.A. I enjoy soccer, piano, reading, writing, art and my family. Years ago I spent 18 months in Italy teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Seeing the castles and old Roman cities enhanced my fascination for ancient and medieval culture. In college I studied zoology, botany and criminal justice. I've worked as a wildland firefighter and a police officer, but I am currently a stay-at-home mom, surviving multiple sclerosis, and spending time with my children and husband. I love thinking up new ideas for interesting stories and musical compositions to go with them. To schedule a book signing, appearance, or interview, contact Dayna Anderson at dayna@amberjackpublishing.com or me at elsie_rees@hotmail.com